Polystyrene concrete as the structural thermal insulating material

Polystyrene concrete is an effective and relatively inexpensive insulating and structural material. Works of many specialists are devoted to develop the composition of polystyrene concrete mixture and also to study the physical and mechanical, thermal and technological properties. One of the major problems in production of polystyrene concrete mixture and in formation of its products is the exfoliation property due to the different weight of included components. To overcome this disadvantage, various reinforcing materials, plasticizing and air-entraining additives are added in the polystyrene concrete mixture. We developed a reinforced polystyrene concrete mixture which includes expanded polystyrene, crushed polystyrene, Portland cement type I, gypsum, gaize, chrysotile asbestos fiber, plasticizer aqueous solution of polyacrylamide, carboxymethyl cellulose, tartaric acid, saponified wood resin and water for mixing. The developed composition allows obtaining the polystyrene concrete mix in a simple method with a uniform distribution of granules in volume and with minimal shrinkage deformations, without exfoliation and without grasping within the predictable time that is sufficient for the transport from the production place to the construction site. Our study established that the compressive strengths of test samples (D200, D300, D400, D500, D600, D700, D800, D900, D1000, D1100 kg/m(3)) are in the range of 0.28 MPa to 4.22 MPa in average, and the thermal conductivity 0.073 to 0.3 W/(m.degrees C) depending on the average density of polystyrene concrete. The developed polystyrene concrete mix can be used for the production of thermal insulating and structural thermal insulating material of buildings of various purposes. (c) 2017 The Authors. Published by IASE